potion
/ˈpoʊ.ʃən/noun
potion is spelled P-O-T-I-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, potion means “A small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of potion is potions.
How many letters and syllables are in potion?
| Letters | 6: P-O-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is potion?
Potion appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce potion?
- UK /ˈpəʊ.ʃən/
- US /ˈpoʊ.ʃən/
- /poːʃən/
Potion has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-potion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with potion
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with potion?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as potion from its last stressed vowel (/oʊʃən/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: option.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of potion
- potions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- potioning participle, present
- potioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does potion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical.
He hoped to win the princess's heart by mixing the love potion the witch gave him into her drink.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo drug (someone).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate potion?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of potion: pot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Potion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | potion |
| German | Trank, Zaubertrank, Wundertrank, Gifttrank, Heiltrank, Elixier |
| Portuguese | poção |
| Spanish | poción, potingue, bebedizo, tisana |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does potion come from?
From Middle English pocioun, borrowed from Old French pocion, from Latin pōtiō (“a drinking”), pōtiōnis, from pōtāre (“to drink”). Displaced native Old English drenċ whence Modern English drench. Doublet of poison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).